如果你唔見左7000萬你會點？

I have a friend whose life is quite different from most of us. By chance, in 1984 his family had the opportunity to purchase 0.25% of one of the Blue Chips at $90 thousands and in 2007 the company proposed to purchase their stock back at $110 millions.  Furthermore, according to my friend in these 30 years, the company has given them around $600 thousand dividends each year, which the total of the dividend is $18 million. To sum up, roughly, the family’s capital has increased 140 times in these 30 years. What makes the case funny to me is that, my friend’s family has only sold 1/3 of their stocks in 2007 and since there was a change in the company’s structure, my friend told me he has been worried about whether they will be “written off”. To most of us, we might think, “How will you be write off in case you have paid real money for an investment in a reliable place?” But this is not my concern here, my concern is: what will you feel if you were my friend and your capital has been written off.

At the very beginning, let’s elaborate more on how my friend’s family seized to have the chance to purchase the stock at such a great price. My friend’s family used to work for the company and like most traditional Chinese tycoon, the boss didn’t let the soldiers fight in hunger; as a result the tycoon both being nice and to boost up the morality, he offered a great deal to most of his loyal employees. Right after the acquisition of the stock, his father passed away. Put things otherwise, if, judging form a realistic angle, the tycoon’s endeavor did not work very well in my friend’s family. Since my friend was young, his mother has educated him with the mindset that the stock is a favor from the tycoon; however, like one of his friends, let’s call him A, responded, A told my friend, “It is ridiculous, your family has invested real money and if you have not invested there, you might have invested in better place and gain more profit so there the favor talk is just plainly stupid.”

I think A’s comment, to most of us is valid. It is because we have been educated in a capitalistic society where when we invest in something, we expect return; nevertheless, as logic tells us, what has been happening in the society or believed by the mass does not justify a notion. Moreover, as Christians, we have to be very careful not to be encroached by the mass for we are the salt and light of the community.  So here, I would have to ask, today, if you were my friend and $70 million of your assets have been written off, how would you feel? To me, if I were my friend, I would think in this way: as a matter of facts, it might be true that his family has paid $90 thousand for the stock; however, obviously it is, rather than calling it an investment, it was more like a favor from the tycoon. Truly as we can see the tycoon didn’t need $90 thousand for anything, his proposal, though not completely benevolent did imply a sincerity and respect to my friend’s father as a loyal worker. So after paying $18 million investment and around $37 million for selling 1/3 of the stock, the tycoon has already spent $50 million on this family, which since the father’s diseased has not contributed anything to the company, I can imagine if the tycoon were the bosses today, my friend’s family should be written off right after his father’s diseased.

So here we have 2 different sets of thinking, one represents a post-modern thoughts that takes things factually and the other represents a more traditional way that take things with consideration of values like being grateful. Which one is more Biblical? I suppose the second view is more Biblical, it appears to me that the tycoon is pretty much like a “lite” version of God. Undoubtedly, trying to say the tycoon is “like” God might sounds weird and insolent; nevertheless, it is not my point here. My point here is that: As Christians, how do you make judgments? Are you judging things from the standard of man or from the standard of God?

Being educated in Hong Kong, we have a tendency to take things for granted and undermine the beauty of other’s grace. When someone does you a favor, there is always more than one interpretation. When your boss gives you the year-end bonuses, you can always think critically, claiming the bonuses are a social string to reinforce you to work harder and it has balance out with the profit you have made for the company. For sure, there are cases where the deal is fair; nevertheless, I am not sure if every case is like that. The point here is quite straightforward, contemporary teachings tell us to always looking for more and protest when there is less. To be wise is to ask for more, even, when you do not deserve any.

Here, as Christians, we have to be very careful not to be encroached by the value of the society, we live in the society but we do not blindly follow the values of the society. So even the society tells us that we should ask for more, we have to step back and think, “How much do we deserve?” Without having such a mindset, inevitably, we will fall into the trap of ungratefulness. The logic is pretty simple, humans are greedy, our greed keep reminding us that more is better; nonetheless, Christian value indicates that more is not better. Being grateful is a great virtue. As a result, when two sets of beliefs are in contest, Christian value triumphs a desire.

So we come across a cross road, either my friend should believe ask for more and protest when less or being grateful and be thankful even when he has been written off. The decision is not an easy way, $70 million is not a small amount and most of us cannot earn $70 million even if we work very hard for 100 years. What I can do now is to pray for him, hoping God to illuminate him to understand that, being a Christian, he should be thankful, he should count everything he has, rather than baffled by the fact that he might lost $70 million, which rigidly speaking he does not deserve. Furthermore, may God pity his soul, letting him know that no matter how, he has already been more fortunate than 90% of the population in Hong Kong, considering he has a very warm family and his financial status.